Comments

Episode-2123- Expert Council Q&A for 12-1-17 — 10 Comments

  1. Hello,

    i had been a long time sufferer of acid reflux.  At times, it seemed like no amount of rolaids or tums could stop it.  I finally had a scope done and learned I had stage 1 Barrats esophagus, a pre cancerous condition.  The doctor prescribed acid reducers.  I talked to my chiropractor about this and she told me what I needed was more acid in my stomach not less so that my stomach would digest food more efficiently.  She give me a supplement which consisted of a natural form of hydrochloride acid made from beets.  I started this protocol and found that the reflux disappeared immediately.  Recently, I found that blood type can have a lot to do with the condition.  Apparently, an A blood type generally produces less stomach acid then an O blood type.  An A does best with a fish and vegetable diet while an O is a meat and potato eater.  I am an A and stick to fish and veggies.  Will be 65 next month and feel the best I’ve felt in 20 years.

    This approach has worked for me, so I thought I would share it.

    thanks

  2. On the sheep question: I think that Darby might have assumed too much prior knowledge in the part of the questioner in his comparisons to cattle. Sheep are flock animals and therefore you *always* need more than one. With sheep, one really is none. To have a breeding flock, a ram and two ewes are better, in case you lose one.

    Also, in my area of the country it is very difficult to rent a ram. Shepherds in the small farms of the Northeast are knowledgeable about and wary of the possibilities for parasite or disease transmission farm to farm; we don’t even wear the same boots when we go farm visiting (or we take shoe covers).

    There are some other possible issues it’s useful to mention: is the breed of the sheep suited to your purpose (meat only, or meat/wool or meat/wool/milk)? Is the breed considered easy lambing? Can you get set up for sheep easily? Do you have a vet in the area who knows sheep? Shepherds I know do a lot of their own basic vet care, but the back-up of a vet with expertise in sheep is vital, especially if you encounter a problem lambing (and at some point you will).

    None of this is to discourage anyone from keeping sheep. They are great animals and very rewarding – well managed, they can even make your land better. I see it as completely parallel to the learning you do to have a dog: the difference is that a lot of us learn that early in life. So we forget that once we had to learn that  dogs need certain shots at certain intervals, that some things they might eat can hurt them, etc.; it has become second nature. Sheep, or any species new to us, require the same kind of learning curve.

  3. Things are heating up on this stupid Net Neutrality crap again. I just thought I’d drop a comment asking you to do a full and more detailed version of the youtube video you posted back in July. Maybe include some slides or diagrams to break it down for the average person. We need something we can circulate on Twitter and to the ruling class; Maybe cooler heads will prevail if we inform them.

    • Sorry no I am done, I said my piece and people are going to believe what ever they want.

      The good news is since it was never a law and enacted by one president (unconstitutionally by the way) the current one is going to remove it. It is going to happen, when it does and nothing goes horribly wrong, it will be over and out for at least 4 years. I am DONE pushing this string. This was my final words on the matter https://www.facebook.com/jack.spirko/posts/10212769506887575

  4. Darby has very good points about rented bulls.  We have rented, but currently own our bulls.  I do feel his point about separating them for 10 months is off.  We separate bulls for about 3 months to avoid mid-winter calves, but otherwise they run with the herd.  Have had no issues running them like this the last 30-40 years.
    Can’t speak for sheep, but in MO, renting a goat buck is hit or miss.  Both sides are leery of spreading parasites or disease.  Often it costs more than purchasing even a pretty decent buck that could then be resold.
     Personally, I run my buck year round and generally get 3  kid crops every 2 years.  However, I intend to switch this to the same way we handle the bulls to avoid winter kids, once the herd is large enough to justify two bucks (companion) and I build a strong enough pen that’s large enough to feed them without grain…
    I know these are gift sheep, but it would be worth looking at Icelandics as they are smaller (allows more sheep/acres so ram as a percentage of herd uses less input) and often have larger than average # of lambs.  3-4 lambs is relatively common.  Kind of like big rabbits with wool!  LOL.
     If butchering themselves, small sheep are great.  However, my local butchers charge by the head for sheep and goat, so if I took them there, the bigger the better…
    Of course, there is also shearing if woolen.  Wool is a $ loosing venture at this juncture if you hire a shearer…  

  5. On the sheep thing where Darby mentioned renting a male, maybe you could look around to see if you could rent your male out and offset some cost of owning.

  6. I dealt with Acid Reflux for quite some time, waking up to yark became almost the norm. Then, got tested for Sleep Apnea and found out I was struggling so hard for breath I was forcing acid up and..yeah. Got a CPAP. Problem solved. Not the universal cause but it’s one to consider.

  7. I know Icelandic sheep well (I have them) and they twin. There is a gene for multiple births in the breed (the Thoka gene) but it’s rare. Icelandics are a great breed for a homestead, but they do need to be shorn 2x/yr and they yield 2 lambs (if you want dual or triple purpose, they are your breed, though.) Thank you, Ted K, for reiterating the problem with renting a ram or renting out your own ram: parasites & disease. A novice shepherd shouldn’t do that, and an experienced one probably won’t.